Craigslist rental scam hits close to home

By Katie Collins Brush News-Tribune Staff Writer

Posted:
10/09/2012 04:00:00 PM MDT

Updated:
10/10/2012 08:55:55 AM MDT

(Courtesy Photo.)

The Brush Police Department is warning residents that an infamous scam concerning homes for rent placed on Craigslist, the website providing a forum for classifieds both locally and internationally, has finally hit home.

In this most recent outbreak, fraudulent posters scour the internet for local home listings and pretend that they themselves are the owners by copying addresses and photographs from legitimate listings and creating it as a post of their own. They lure desperate renters with ridiculously low rental rates and easy deposit terms. The latest round of scams involves people living outside of the U.S. who are copying photos of local homes and listing them for rent online. Then, unsuspecting renters send in a deposit for a home that isn't even available.

The scam has affected at least one local realtor who reported one of their homes as fraudulently listed on Craigslist for rent.

According to Brush Police Chief Mark Thomas, “The problem with these listings is that the people who post them have no ties to the house. They may even ask for a deposit to be mailed before sending the so-called ‘keys'.”

After being alerted of the fraud, the BPD was able to send a notice of the scam to Craigslist and investigated by following the post to a location in Delhi.

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Other than those actions taken, the BPD states that not much else can be done to discourage the fraud, but they would like to warn consumers to beware of such scams and to keep alert while buying online.

“If it's too good to be true, it probably is,” noted Chief Thomas, “If you're not meeting with the owners of the property at the house, face-to-face, then beware.”

Craigslist warns applicants to beware of scammers and to flag suspicious listings, but before browsing for a home or rental online, there are red flags consumers can look out for to protect themselves:

Listings with email contacts only.Owners who are not available to show the property before you send a deposit.Owners who are 'out of the country.'Owners with overseas phone numbers.Owners who request that you send your deposit via money transfer.